Prosecutors seek remand of suspect in election-eve shooting

2010/11/27 22:39:04

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) Prosecutors applied Saturday for a remandorder against a suspect in the election-eve shooting of LienSheng-wen, the son of former Vice President Lien Chan, the BanciaoDistrict Prosecutors Office said.

The suspect, identified as Lin Cheng-wei, was taken to theprosecutors office in Taipei County for questioning earlier in theday.

He was arrested and held at a local police station the previousnight after Lien Sheng-wen, also known as Sean Lien, was shot in theface with a handgun at a campaign rally in Yonghe City.

According to the district prosecutors office, Lin said duringquestioning that he had shot the wrong person. Lin told theprosecutors that his target was Chen Hung-yuan, a candidate who wasrunning for a councilor seat in Yonghe, Taipei County, and heapologized for shooting Lien by mistake, the office said.

However, Lien Sheng-wen's personal assistant told reportersSaturday that Lien said he had clearly heard the gunman swearing athim and calling his name before the shot was fired.

The investigators in the case said that the investigation willcontinue, notwithstanding Lin's statement.

In the shooting Friday, a man at the campaign rally was killedand Lien Sheng-wen was injured.

According to the investigators, a bullet was removed from thebody of the dead man, who has been identified only by his surnameHuang.

The evidence collected at the scene indicates that the gunmanonly fired one shot, the investigators said.

Lin, nicknamed "Ma Mien (horse face), " lives in Yonghe and has arecord of intimidation, gambling and drug-possession, the policesaid.

Lien Sheng-wen, 40, is a member of the Central Committee of theruling Kuomintang. He has not held any public office since heresigned earlier this year as chairman of Taipei EasyCard Co. forhealth reasons.